Guide apparatus for use with a toilet flushing mechanism



G. D. CLAPP May 29, 195

GUIDE APPARATUS FOR USE WITH A TOILET F'LUSHING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 8,1954 accomplish their intended purpose.

GUIDE APPARATUS FOR USE WITH A TOILET FLUSHING MECHANISM Gerald D.Clapp, Santa Barbara, Caiif.

Application November 8, 1954, Serial No. 467,439

2 Claims. '(Cl. 4-57) The present invention relates generally to toiletsand more particularly to a basic improvement in the flushing mechanismthereof.

The conventional toilet flushing mechanism includes a discharge pipelocated within a flushing tank and formed with a valve seat whereupon isseated a buoyant stopper. The stopper is normally maintained seated uponthe valve seat by the head of water contained in the flushing tank. Whenthe handle of the toilet is operated to raise the stopper oil? the valveseat the stopper will float upwardly so as to leave the valve seatuncovered and permit the water in the flushing tank to rush downwardlythrough the discharge pipe. As the tank empties and the water leveldrops, the stopper will move downwardly so as to be reseated upon thevalve seat and thereby close the opening of the discharge pipe. Thestopper will remain seated upon the valve seat as the flushing'tank isrefilled.

Stoppers for discharge valve apparatus of the above described type aregenerally provided with a wire stopper rod that extends upwardlytherefrom and with a guide for guiding the rod in its vertical movementrelative to the valve seat, the guide being rigidly secured to theoverflow pipe that extends upwardly adjacent the discharge pipe. Theintended purpose of this guide is to insure that the stopper will alwaysdescend substantially coaxial with the valve seat so as to land 'inapositive seating position thereupon. The stopper rod and guide do notalways On some occasions the stopper rod will bind within itsguide andthereby hold the stopper in an elevated position relative to the valveseat. On other occasions the stopper rod'may be so loosely held withinitsguide that it will assume an angular position relative to thevertical and as the stopper descends it will land in a position slightlydisplaced from its proper coaxial seating position.-

it is a major object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved guide apparatus for the stopper rod of a conventional stopperwhich will assure that the latter always assumes a proper seatingposition upon the valve seat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guide apparatus of theaforedescribed nature which will not interfere in any manner with theproper flushing of a toilet.

A further object is to provide a guide apparatus of the aforedescribednature which may be readily installed within a flushing tank in aminimum amount of time and with a minimum amount of labor by theordinary householder. Such installation requires no special tools.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a guide apparatus ofthe aforedescribed nature which may be installed upon the majority oftoilet flushing mechanisms utilized today.

Yet a further object is to provide a guide apparatus of theaforedescribed nature which is usable as a replacement for the originalguide furnished with the conventional toilet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a t Patent guideapparatus of the aforedescribed nature that is simple of design andrugged of construction whereby it may provide a long and trouble-freeservice life.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with theappended drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of guide apparatusembodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFigure 3;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure2; and

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the preferred form of guide apparatus Gembodying the present invention is adapted to be utilized in conjunctionwith a conventional flushing mechanism F that is disposed within theflushing tank (not shown) of a toilet. The flushing me'chanism'Fincludes a discharge pipe l0disposed within the lower portion of theflushing tank and connected at its lower end with the toilet bowl (notshown) in a suitable manner. The upper end of the discharge pipe 10terminates in a coaxial valve seat 12 that receives a stopper '14.Formed below the valve seat 12 is a side extension 16 of the dischargepipe and rigidly supported thereby is an upstanding overflow pipe 18.The upper end of the overflow pipe 18 extends above the level of thewater contained in the flushing tank.

The stopper 14 is of. conventional construction having an upwardlytapering frusto-conical top section 20 and an integral generallyhemispherical bottom section 22. The interior of the stopper 14 ishollow and a downwardly facing opening (not shown) is centrally formedin the underside of the bottom section 22. The stopper will ordinarilybe of rubber construction. An upstanding wire stopper rod 24 is rigidlysecured to the upper end'of the stopper 14. The top of the stopper rod24 is formedinto a loop 26.

The flushing mechanism F includes a generallyhorizontally extending liftlever 30 having its free-end formed with a plurality of apertures '32.The opposite end of the lift lever 30 (not shown) is operativelyconnected to the flushing handle (not shown) of the toilet.

The guide apparatus G includes a cylindrical frame, generally designated34, that is fixedly secured to the discharge pipe 10 coaxial therewith,a semi-buoyant guide member, generally designated 36 which is axiallyslidably disposed within the frame 34, and a tension element 38 thatinterconnects the buide member 36 and the lift lever 30. The guidemember 36 includes a bushing element or disc 40 that axially slidablymaintains the stop rod 24 substantially coaxial with the valve seat 12.

The cylindrical frame 34 will preferably be fabricated primarily ofcorrosive-resistant lengths of wire, however it could be formed of othersuitable materials, as for example, plastic. The upper end of this frame34 is defined by a flanged collar 42, while the lower-end thereof isdefined 'by a horizontally extending segment of a loop 44. A pluralityof vertically extending bars 46 rigidly interconnects the collar 42 andthe segment 44. A single nut element 50 is rigidly interposed betweenthe lower end of each of the bars 46 and the lower segment 44.

The upper end of the frame 34 is secured to the upper portion of theoverflow pipe 18 by means of a bracket 52. This bracket 52 includes afront half 54 rigidly secured at its mid-portion to the collar 42 and arear half 55. The two halves are adapted to be clamped to the overflowpipe 18 by tightening a pair of screw elements 56, the latter beingcarried within aligned threaded bores 58 formed in the opposite end ofthis link being formed with threaded bore 70 having the same spacing asthose of the nut elements 50. It should be particularly noted that thediameter of the circle defined by the lower segment 44 and the link 68is larger than that of any of the discharge pipes found in the toiletflushing mechanism commonly being utilized. The lower endof the frame 34may be fitted to any of these discharge pipes even though their diametervaries by proper manipulation of the screw elements 66. Suchmanipulation likewise permits exact centering of the frame 34 relativeto the valve seat 12 of the discharge pipe upon which it is mounted.This facilitates the replacement of the guide means originally found ona toilet with one embodying the present invention.

The guide member 36 will preferably have an integral body 71 of hollowrubber construction, the lower portion '72 thereof being generallyhemispherical in configuration and the upper portion thereof havingupwardly and inwardly tapering walls 73. An opening 74 is centrallyformed in the lower end of this body 71. The upper end of the body 71 isclosed by the bushing element or disc 40, as indicated in Figure 2, thisdisc being formed with a peripheral groove 78 that is received by a lip80 formed about the circular opening 76. The disc 40 may be formed of asuitable plastic material if desired. A vertical bore 82 is coaxiallyformed in the disc 40 and the stopper rod 24 is axially slidably carriedtherein. element 38 may consist of wire having its lower end formed witha horizontal portion 83 that is rigidly anchored in a suitable mannerwithin a notch 84 formed in the disc 40, as indicated in Figures 2 and3. The upper portion of this wire is bent into a loop 86 that may beinserted into one of the apertures 32 formed in the lift lever 30, asshown in Figure l. Preferably, the wire 38 will be so shaped that thepoint of connection of its upper loop 86 with the lift lever 30 will bealigned with the center of gravity of the combined guide member 36 andthe wire 38. Conveniently, the wire 38 may be bent from a conventionalstopper rod of the type designated 24 in the drawings. Preferably, aloop 87 shown in Figures 2 and 3 is formed at the free end of thehorizontal portion 83, and the notch includes an enlarged pocket 89,indicated in these two figures. With this arrangement, the loop 87 maybe removably wedged into the pocket 89 and replacement of the wire 38may be readily accomplished.

In operation, the parts of the apparatus will normally be disposed asindicated in Figure 1, the stopper 14 being held seated upon the valveseat 12 by the pressure of the water disposed thereabove in the flushingtank. When it is desired to flush the toilet bowl the flushing handle isactuated so as to raise the free end of the lift lever 30. This will inturn lift the guide member 36 and once the loop 26 of the stopper rod 24engages the upper surface of the disc 40, the stopper will be raised offthe valve seat 12. The stopper is buoyant and will therefore floatupwardly permitting the water in the flushing tank to rush downwardlyinto the discharge pipe 10. The guide member 36 is semi-buoyant and asthe water level in the flushing tank drops it will descend within thecylindrical frame 34. The stopper 14 will fall with the level of the Thetension water towards the valve seat 12. During such descent the stopperrod 24 will be guided substantially coaxially with respect to the valveseat 12 by its sliding engagement with the bore 82 of the guide membersdisc 40, the body 71 being maintained substantially coaxial with respectto the cylindrical frame 34 by the engagement of its outer peripherywith the inside of the vertical bars 46. Inasmuch as the guide member 36will be undergoing agitation due to the turbulence of the water in theflushing tank, the stopper rod 24 will always remain free relative tothe bore 74. In this manner the stopper 14 will be guided substantiallycoaxially into the valve seat 12 whereby the stopper will always assumea positive seating position thereon.

While there has been described hereinbefore what is presently consideredto be the preferred embodiment of the present invention it will beapparent that various modifications and changes may be made with respectthereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the following claims.

I claim:

1. Guide apparatus for use with a toilet flushing mechanism having alift lever, a discharge pipe formed with a valve seat, an upstandingoverflow pipe, a stopper that seats on said valve seat and an upstandingstopper rod, comprising: a cylindrical frame open at its upper end andformed at its lower end with a plurality of radially extending threadedbores; a scerw element disposed in each of said bores for engagementwith said discharge pipe; means for securing the upper portion of saidframe to said overflow pipe; a guide member that includes a hollow bodyhaving an outside diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter ofsaid frame, the bottom portion of said body being open, and a disccoaxially secured within the upper portion of said body; a vertical borecoaxially formed in said disc that axially slidably supports saidstopper rod; and, a tension element interconnecting said disc and saidlift lever.

2. Guide apparatus for use with a toilet flushing mechanism having alift lever, a discharge pipe formed with a valve seat, an upstandingoverflow pipe, a stopper that seats on said valve seat and an upstandingstopper rod, comprising: a cylindrical frame of open wire constructionopen at its upper end and formed at its lower end with a plurality ofradially extending threaded bores; a screw element disposed in each ofsaid bores for engagement with said discharge pipe; a bracket forsecuring the upper portion of said frame to said overflow pipe, saidbracket having a split ring member which is clamped about said overflowpipe; a guide member that includes a hollow body having an outsidediameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of said frame, thebottom portion of said body being open, and a disc coaxially securedwithin the upper portion of said body; a vertical bore coaxially formedin said disc that axially slidably supports said stopper rod; and,'awire interconnecting said disc and said lift lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS909,789 Hawks Jan. 12, 1909 1,536,078 Curtin May 5, 1925 1,784,944Nordlund Dec. 16, 1930 1,814,604 Martindell July 14, 1931 1,890,281Dollinger Dec. 6, 1932 2,668,960 Lennard Feb. 16, 1954 2,688,140Schlatter Sept. 7, 1954

